7 Types of Tea in China

Picking Tea.

Tea
is the national drink in China. In
addition to its prominence in Chinese culture, tea also claims many health
benefits, making it a popular drink worldwide. There are several types of
Chinese tea, which vary in degree of fermentation and processing.

1. Green Tea

Chinese
green tea is the oldest and most popular type of tea; it has been enjoyed in China for several thousand years. Green tea
is made from the new shoots of the tea plant, and the tea leaves are dried and
processed according to the type of tea desired.

Green Tea.

The techniques for processing green
tea are sub-divided into three categories: water removing, rolling, and drying.
Traditional green tea has a pale color and a sharp, astringent flavor. It is
produced primarily in the provinces of Jiangxi, Anhui, and Zhejiang. The
most famous green tea is West Lake Dragon
Well Tea , which is produced in Hangzhou.

2. Yellow Tea

Yellow
tea is produced by allowing damp tea leaves to dry naturally. It has a distinctive aroma, similar to red
tea, but its flavor is closer to green and white teas. Yellow tea is also used
to describe the high-quality tea that was served to the emperors, as yellow wsa
the traditional imperial color.

Yellow Tea.

Junshan
Yinzhen is produced in China's Hunan Province and is the country's most popular yellow tea.

3. White Tea

White
tea is unfermented, uncured green tea that has been quickly dried. It is indigenous to Fujan Province, and is
lighter in color than other types of tea with a subtle, delicate flavor.

White
tea got its name from the tradition
of poor Chinese people offering plain boiled water to guests, if they had no
tea, and calling it "white tea".

Popular
brands of white tea are White Peony and Silver Needle.

4. Oolong Tea

Oolong
tea, also known as blue tea, is unfermented tea with unique characteristics. Made from a blend of green and red teas, oolong
tea boasts the best flavors and aromatic qualities of both. Sometimes called "green
leaves with a red edge", oolong tea is thought to aid in fat decomposition and
is widely regarded as a weight loss aid and a beauty enhancer.

Wenshan
Baozhong Tea and Dongding Oolong Tea are two
exemplary brands of this popular tea.

Black Tea.

5. Black Tea

Black
tea is the second largest category of Chinese tea. It is made from the new shoots of tea leaves, which are wilted,
rolled, fermented, and dried. The resulting infusion yields a lovely red color
and a subtle aromatic fragrance. Keemun is the most popular brand of black tea.

6. Dark Tea

Dark
tea is a kind of post-fermented tea, which undergoes an actual fermentation process aided by bacteria. The whole
process comprises six steps: water removing, first-time rolling, heaping, second
rolling, baking, and drying.

It is
generally acknowledged that dark tea originated
in the 16th century in Anhua City, Hunan Province.

Dark Tea.

The most common dark tea brands are Anhua Dark
Tea, Hubei Laobian Tea, Sichuan Tibetan tea, and Guangxi Liubao Tea. Dark tea is
very popular in Hong Kong, Macao, Southeast Asia and Japan.

7. Pu'er Tea

Pu'er
tea is actually a dark tea, but deserves a category on its own because of its
distinguishing features.

Pu'er
tea, originating from Yunnan Province, has an
ancient history over of 2,000 years. According to Yunnan government's
definition, Puer tea must be tea that is made from a large-leaf variety of a
plant growing in a defined area, which is then processed into compressed tea or
brick tea with a specified technology.

Pu'er Tea.

Pu'er
tea was listed as a geographical
indication product' by the General Administration of Quality Supervision,
Inspection and Quarantine on August 5, 2008. It stipulates that only tea
produced in Yunnan's 639 towns in 11 prefectures and cities, including Pu'er
and Dali, can
be called Pu'er tea.

There
are two distinct types of Pu'er tea:
sheng Pu'er (the raw or green Pu'er) and shu Pu'er (the ripened or black Pu'er).

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